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| Home >> Handheld & PDA Reviews: BlackBerry Curve 8320 Smartphone Titanium (T-Mobile) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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User Submitted BlackBerry Curve 8320 Smartphone Titanium (T-Mobile) Reviews (cont...)Date: 2008-02-19 Best Ever Used!!!!! So far I've used the Audiovox SMT5600, Treo 650, Cingular 8125 and most recently the AT&T 8525 and the Curve is hands down the best of all of them. I've never used Blackberry before and its astonishing how simple and ingenious the OS is compared to Windows. Like me, most of us gravitate towards WM because we're used to using Windows on our PCs, but its mind boggling how much more efficient the Blackberry OS is. I wonder if the Mac OS is this much superior to Windows????? Anyway, its smaller than all the phones above, has better sound and types easier. I was a little concerned about no touchscreen, but in my opinion it actually makes the phone more efficient - instead of always having to reach up to tap the screen you quickly get used to using keyboard shortcuts. The trackball took about 30 minutes to get used to but now its like second nature. Its also much faster between screens than the WM devices, probably because its not bogged down by such a GUI intense OS. One of the most useful items is the All-in-One inbox - you can view your messages in the program that received them like in windows (ie go into outlook for email, SMS for texts, MMS for picture messages, etc), or use the more paowerful everything inbox that shows every message you receive in a single inbox - Text, MMS, IM, email from all your accounts and even voicemails. And the inbox is activated by the default button on the side so with one press I can see, read, and respond to every message I have received through any service. The other thing I love is the type from homescreen. I'm not sure what they call it, but from your homescreen you can start typing any number or name and it will automatically look up the contact from your address book or dial if its a new number. The OS automatically decides if it should be numberic or alpha so you don't have to shift to use the number keys on the keyboard or go into your address book to look someone up. Then from there you can call, text, IM, etc. the person. They've also incorporated a lot of what should be obvious typing features, like recognizing when you're typing a number versus a letter and automatically doing it instead of you having to press the ALT key. Or recognizing you are typing an email address and it does the same thing with the @ symbol so you don't have to look it up. It even has spellcheck for messages. I know these sound like "no-brainers", but the other devices lacked this simplicity. Email was ridiculously easy to set up and has workied flawlessly from day one. Compared to WM a child could set up their email on this phone! I saw that some reviews said the camera quality wasn't that great, but mine seems to take great pics, better than my 8525. I've never written a review before but I'm so excited about this phone I had to speak up. Good luck! Date: 2008-02-18 The Curve is far better than a Treo!!! I had used a Palm Treo for over 5 years and thought I would never switch phones... I am so glad I did! The Curve is smaller, much lighter, and has so many great features that I am really glad I made the switch. I thought I couldn't live without the touch screen of the Treo but the trackball is just as easy to use and works great! I now know why it is called Crackberry! It is worth the switch! :-) Craig Kirsner, MBA, Author: The Art of Telling Great Jokes & Being Funny!: -) Date: 2008-02-17 gui Great phone I love it, I agree with the other 5 star reviews. I'll add my experiences.... WiFi voip works on my routers with no problem....EXCEPT, well for some reason the 8320 WiFi didn't like my routers broadcasting on channel 6, I switched the work router and the home router to broadcast on channel 11 (small problem). I got the Opera browsers to load... I had to give Opera app all permissions for internet hook ups before it would load. After I set up email and our exchange server on our blackberries my very NON tech boss took to it with out a whole lot of pain. The gui and trackball are extremely well done, my boss loves her blackberry curve. I use mailstreet for our exchange server, for another $10.00 fee they do real time push of exchange calendar contacts to our Blackberries. So if you need push exchange contacts calendar I recommend mailstreet, (I've been using them for 4 years).... google apps are also a nice plus the apps loaded easily and they work on the blackberry, great phone. I tested WiFi on AT&T wifi at McDonalds it worked, smile. Kind of odd making a VOIP t-mobile call on AT&T wifi.... hum.(update I just rechecked McDonalds AT&T hotspot; AT&T lets me on Wi-Fi BUT NOT UMA. sigh so it looks like AT&T is going to kill t-mobile hot spot VOIP...at least at the Starbucks hot spots) I've tested the Mp3 player and used google's app Picasa to download pictures it works... and was fun to mess with, But our main use of our BlackBerry's is for business, not the fun camera Mp3 multimedia capabilities of this phone. I do love this phone smile. Date: 2008-02-02 Wifi capability abroad, synch to macs, os system I have had a T-Mobile Curve for about three months and I am very happy. Everything works perfectly, even though with a couple of things I had to find or get help on line. Mmh, I might have been happier with an iPhone but I did not want to move to ATT. T-mobile is a good company. I have been with them for several years and found that they are reasonable, helpful and professional (e.g. they will unlock your phone so that you can use a different SIM card abroad -- try that with ATT). Here are some unique or particularly strong points of the Curve: 1. The UMA function (=connect to T-mobile network via wifi) works even if you do not buy the "hotspot at home" service. Your wifi calls count toward your plan instead of being free. So, this is good if your home reception is poor. If you are a big caller buy Hotspot and you will save $. But, the big advantage is abroad: once you log into a wifi station, you "are" back in the US T-mobile network as indicated by your connection manager. Your calls and internet are now on your regular plan. Hard to believe but true! ... and it works without signing on to Hotspot. 2. I synch with a macbook using the Missing Synch and it works well, also synching music, photos etc. 3. Lacks GPS function, but Google Maps provides "your location" from antennas info without draining your battery. 4. Screen and ringtone customization are fantastic. Plus, you can make or download many ringtones for free (see http://www.bbgeeks.com/). 4. The Blackberry browser is functional. If you need "real" page display use Opera mini (free). 5. I love the standard headphones: they provide great sound quality (I am getting hard of hearing). 6. The operating system is a bit spartan but works very well. The email, messaging, calendar, address book, integration is very robust and effective. This little thing really works as an office-on-the-road. Any drawback? Minor stuff: * I wish it would synch over bluetooth (why does it not Blackberry?). * The Blackberry email provided by T-mobile is functional but it has very little storage. I get a lot of attachments and if I do not empty the mailbox regularly it gets full and mail bounces. This is not a bad problem since my main mailbox is a Gmail account set to IMAP and that forwards to my tmobile mailbox. So, all the mail stays in Gmail. I have GoogleMail on the Curve and it works great. Date: 2008-02-02 Hands down the Bestblackberry made & the best DEAL I tried every current Blackberry offered from AT&T to Verizon, including the Blackjack and Treo line.... the Curve is hands down the best PDA on the market. It's lighter, slimmer and easier to work with than Verizon's World Edition and any Pearl. The Pearl is NOT a business tool, it's a weekend warrior toy compared to the bigger units and the Curve. The Curve has one heck of a 2 mg camera as well. You may say, so what, I don't need a camera, but now you have to lug around a digital snap and shoot, along with your laptop, wallet and other crap? WHY? The shots on this are excellent. Anyway, this IS the Clydesdale, epitome business machine. Buy it or hate thyself. The bottom line is Blackberry's have a rep for being rock solid dependable. The Treo has the most dismal in the industry. Half of our staff have them and they all HATE the Treo's They brake constantly, freeze up, etc. Can you spell LOST BUSINESS? I mean what the heck? A Curve for $49? WOW!
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